What is presently happening in universities, not just at Flinders University but elsewhere, will have – and is having – serious social impacts. Put simply:
• Troubled by decades of inequitable Federal funding cuts, universities, like Flinders, are transforming into businesses;
• This changes the way we think about public education: from a vehicle for public good (i.e. to be invested in jointly by the state and commonwealth for collective good, and accessible to the broader community), to a commodity (paid for by individuals for private benefit);
• These same governments are increasing support for the banks, the wealthy, the military and big corporations, while university managers are diverting much of the funds they do have, to upper management salaries and marketing campaigns while starving administrative support and teaching in many parts of the university;
• Together, this impacts education and teaching. For example, within this ‘business’ formulation, academic subjects are considered valuable to the extent that they hold exchange value on the market. The hard sciences, for instance, are typically more valued by university managers for their amenability to industry partnerships and patents;
• Subjects less amenable to outside funding; i.e., the humanities, social sciences, education, social work, arts, racial and ethnic or other minority studies, are increasingly devalued and are most at risk because they question power;
• The latter fields are those where social inequalities have historically been most vigorously addressed (i.e. poverty, racism, gender inequalities). These are areas where students learn to think critically and care deeply about social equity. They are also areas where women academics are most highly concentrated, and these areas are current targets of the greatest and most casualised workforce;
• Within this formulation, learning areas with highest market value (the ones that make the most money) are thus increasingly tied to outside corporate interests and funding, which in other parts of the world where this model has been applied, have given rise to ethical issues concerning ethics of research;
• Rather than develop critical, social-democratic thinkers with social and political consciousness, with the shift from ‘public education’ to ‘private investment’, universities are destined to develop future generations of workers who are technically trained, yet self-interested, and our societies will be impoverished as a consequence.
Universities have never been perfect institutions, but those like Flinders have had a proud record of making social equity a core part of their rationale. Current moves in higher education are deepening existing social inequalities, they are creating a precarious workforce that hurts minority groups the most, and they are positioning students-as-consumers who, if trends overseas are to be observed, will soon be subject to steeper tuition costs, making education an impossibility for many future students. Save our public universities, save our societies.

“We as human beings deserve a decent life, but this is being denied to us by governments that deny us justice. We shouldn't have to sell our identity and our land to have opportunities that non-Aboriginal people have.”
- Noongar Traditional Owner Uncle Rex Bellotti Snr
Noongar land and waters are our lifeblood and form the basis of our culture and identity as a People. To us, land, water and Noongar people are one. Our connection to our ancestors and culture is powerful, it is thousands of generations old and intrinsically interwoven into our land and waters.
In 2015, the West Australian government struck a deal with some Noongar people to extinguish Noongar Native Title rights forever, in return for over a billion dollars. The land subject to the South West Native Title Settlement extends over the entire south east corner of WA, over 200,000km2.
The South-West Native Title Settlement has been coined by some as the biggest native title deal in Australian history, but we say that it is the biggest native title steal in Australian history.
Successful registration of these Indigenous Land Use Agreements (ILUAs) will mean that half of Western Australia’s Aboriginal population will no longer have native title rights and Noongar native title will be extinguished forever.
This extinguishment by the West Australian Government would leave our mineral-rich Country vulnerable to mining and fracking. It removes our right to negotiate on any future development.
It is our responsibility to protect this connection and to ensure that it is never broken. Surrendering our native title rights will diminish our responsibilities as Traditional Custodians and consequently erode our connection to our ancestors, culture and Country.
Noongar Not For Sale is a campaign for land justice, led by respected Noongar Elders and supported by a groundswell of strong and passionate grassroots mob. We are following in the footsteps of our ancestors and fighting to protect and preserve Noongar land, waters and culture for our children, grandchildren and the many generations of Noongars to come.
For the past decade, Noongar people have been pushing the boundaries of native title law despite the State and Federal Governments constantly shifting the goalposts.
Last year, we won our case in the full bench of the Federal Court in a major win for land justice. The court recognised that not all Native Title Claimants agreed with the settlement, the ILUA’s were invalid and the West Australian Government could not extinguish our Native Title.
In response to this win, mining companies and special interest groups lobbied the Federal Government hard and in the end, the Native Title Act was amended retrospectively.
Our justice was taken away but we are unshaken.
On Monday 19th November we have again launched legal action against the West Australian Government and the South-West Land and Sea Council. We will continue our fight to de-register the 6 ILUAs that form the South-West Native Title Settlement.
In the spirit of our early Noongar resistance fighters we assert that we will not surrender our birthrights.
We are not for sale.

This is the fourth modification by the developer Crown Group to increase the size of the development. The new proposed modifications put forward recently want to see it grow by one third!
They are seeking to increase the building height from 6 to 14 storeys, thus increasing the number units from 292 to 468 and floor area by an extra 15,336 sqm.
There is huge concern that these modifications will:
- Create extreme traffic issues in the area as there isn't any proper infrastructure in place
- Obstruct the views of many residents in the immediate area
- Obstruct the sunlight to Eastlakes Reserve which is very popular with locals
- Create increased parking issues for existing residents in the area
- Create more delays to existing overcrowded public transport as no new buses will be allocated
- Increase traffic noise due to a 24hour loading dock
- Look like an eyesore and not represent the true character of Eastlakes

The garden plants on Drew Street are more than 10 metres from the corner of Daglish Street and we strongly disagree that these plants cause any sight obstructions to motorists.
We ask you to hear the voices of your community and stop the planned destruction of our beloved Faerie Garden.

Many long term practitioners of applied psychology were and are excluded from AoPE simply because they chose to not be members of the APS. The vast majority of these have 6 years of study and training in psychology; many of them have masters degrees and PhDs in psychology, and/or extensive professional development training in the application of psychology. A system that does not recognise the competence of many of its well trained and experienced practitioners is system we cannot support. Many psychologists (the vast majority of whom are not 'endorsed') view PBA endorsements as an insult to their training, experience and competence as it implies that they are in some way less capable than endorsed psychologists. As such, AoPE are simply damaging to most Australian psychologists. Any perception of differences in expertise based on endorsements are simply not based on any demonstrable facts. With AoPE, the PBA has created a system which facilitates this misperception. Many psychologists are facing serious restrictions to their practice, employment opportunities and financial disadvantage due to not being a member of the APS at the time that 'grandfathering' into Areas of Practice Endorsement occured.

This site holds great historical and cultural significance for our town. Its location in the heart of town provides Evans Head with a connection to its past, giving character and a great feel that a new building cannot offer.
To date there has been no community consultation. We cannot sit back and allow our history to be taken from us!

The little town of Surat on the Balonne River in QLD with a population of about 500 people (if they've got visitors) is about to be surrounded by gasfields. Armour Energy wants to frack. We have til 4.30pm on 5 November 2018 to tell them Don't Frack Surat.
The gas industry is trying to expand to every state in Australia. They are huge multinational companies whose overriding objective is profit. There is ample evidence put together by people who don't receive a cent for doing it, including doctors and scientists, that fracking and CSG is harmful to humans and the environment.

The ABC is an important media asset belonging to the people of Australia. We want it to operate with no indirect or direct instructions from politicians or their proxies on how to perform it's role as independent unbiased reporter. It is not the role of the Chairman to make decisions on who gets hired or fired. The current chairman is not fit to continue in this role.

We, as many other Victorians have been and are going through a huge change of our city due to the massive construction of appartments. These have provoked a terrible disruption of our lives due to the noise of machinery. We don’t need the extra loud music noise.

We need to shift our awareness and understand there are other ways to prevent shark attacks from occurring and killing them is not the answer. It is unethical and will destroy our ocean causing a imbalance in the oceanic ecosystems, leading to serious environmental consequences. No matter how you look at it, sharks have been around for 400 million years. Many sharks are becoming endangered and need our voice. Sharks help keep populations of their prey in check, weeding out the weak and sick animals to keep the overall population healthy. Their disappearance can set off a chain reaction through out the ocean and even impact people on shore. If sharks disappear it would be bad news for us all.

The KPI for a claim for any type of Pension is 6 weeks. Because of lack of staff and a huge back-log this has now blown out to as much as 12 weeks and sometimes longer. This is even before you know if your claim will be accepted or not. Some people have the resources to cover this long wait, but many don't, which is why they are claiming in the first place. It is better for a person to be cared for in their own home, by a loved one rather than be a burden in either the hospital or aged care system. Adding financial stress to a Carers burden can definitely lead to a depressed mental outlook. Please sign the petition now asking the Federal Minister to Increase Staff in Centrelink so they can address all wait time issues.

Cheltenham Place is a vital service for South Australia's HIV-positive population. It provides many specialist supports and respite accommodation to people living with HIV and their carers. It is a safe place for them, away from stigma and discrimination; set up to meet –psychosocial and medical needs. The clients of Cheltenham Place have high and complex needs. Most have diagnosed mental health issues. Some have drug and alcohol challenges, physical disabilities and, others have experienced homelessness.
In 17/18, the service worked with nearly 100 people, including those recently diagnosed with HIV, and facilitated 10 early hospital discharges and 37 hospital avoidances. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare research shows that conservatively calculated, that has saved the health budget more than $800,000, saving the Government purse far more than its modest $411,000 operational sting each year.
Despite all of this, Minister Wade has announced he will discontinue funding for Cheltenham Place from 1 January 2019, forcing it's closure.
HIV is still here. Each year in South Australia we have seen an average of 59 new HIV diagnoses. We know that not all people with HIV are aware they have the virus, and this is why sustained investment in testing and treatment is so important. Our State Government has now removed the only specialist HIV respite and outreach support service in South Australia while simultaneously reducing funding for STI and BBV testing and education programs.